The Crossover

I only have one friend who knows I blog: KH.

KH and I met over a year ago in Organizational Behavior, a required class for our MBA studies. We didn’t talk much that semester as a kid sat in between us but after discovering we were both taking the same class the following semester, we became fast friends.

Our first hanging out night involved Mexican, two HUGE maragaritas and partying until 4am. Our nights now are more low-key for the most part, but still just as awesome. We laugh all the time. Yes, we are those girls.

Unlike a lot of my friends, KH totally gets me. I don’t feel the need to keep things from her which is why a few weeks after we became friends, I told her I wrote a blog. And, as predicted, she understood my motives writing. Not to say she totally understands the Blog World, because let’s face it, until you’re a blogger, no one really gets the Blog World.

So when Rebekah asked me to go to a Girlfriends Guide to Gaming Party which I’ll write in more detail about once the photos come in, and asked me to bring a friend, KH was the obvious choice. Not to mention I know she loves playing the Wii just as much as I do!

We “pre-gamed,” with some crackers & Laughing Cow cheese, while watching some really interesting/gross show on the Travel Channel about the bizarre foods in faraway lands. (Last night’s country: Ethiopia. I’m sure that if I had grown up in Ethiopia I would love the food but after watching that show I’d say sending me to Ethiopia would be a great way for me to lose weight.) Anyway, I admitted to KH that she would be meeting one of my blog friends, Liz, and for some reason I was nervous. I was officially “marrying” my real life with my Blog World life.

As usual, I had no reason to be nervous because KH and Liz are rather similar in that they are both chill, relaxed, funny women who are easy to be around and both told me, separately, that they’d like to hang out with the other person more which of course makes me happy and I want to plan triple dates and girls’ nights and…. yeah, I like to plan.

I realized on the drive home last night that I have already married my real life and Blog World in a big, big way since Las Vegas, since I started the Blog Love project, since I met Nilsa. Facebook friends. Text messages of encouragement or just because. Email exchanges. Gchat. Snail mail. Phone calls. Planned trips. The crossover is complete.

Funny thing is, though, I’m not ready to tell everone I blog or share my link on my facebook account. I’m not quite ready to be a 100% “known,” blogger. I don’t tell all my friends how I know all my fabulous new friends on Facebook. I’m not sure why I can’t stand up and shout from the rooftops, Yes, I blog! Yes, I share my life on the internet. Maybe it’s because some of the thoughts I share here are hard for me to write. I never know what my readers will think of me. Of my words. Of my life. Maybe it’s because by and large the blogging community is non-judgmental and scrutinizing and maybe it’s because some real life friends are. Maybe it’s because I like to have a part of me that is still marginally prviate from the main stream world. I’m not sure.

All this to say:

a) KH rocks for being a supportive, non-judgemental friend about my online presence (Irish, too! He encourages me to write and keep up with the blog.)
b) there may be a few password protected posts here and there if I’m writing about a super-sensitive topic that I’d die if “real” people found
c) Nintendo DSi’s are pretty sweet and
d) I’m still in shock and awe of all the enrichment blogging has given me

MeMe

 

I received a new award from Lisa at Knitting Yarns, the MeMe Award. Or perhaps it’s the Meme award? Either way, the focus of this award is more-or-less all about MeMe in that I must:

a) share seven tidbits about myself

b) share the award with seven blog friends!

Onto the tidbits!

1. I haven’t printed any photos I’ve taken in almost a year. My real life friends would ask what is wrong with me as I used to be the girl who took high school photos for one-hour processing the next morning. I made weekly treks to Walgreens in college to pick-up and drop off new photos. I have over 200 photos marked as ones I would like to print, some to share with friends, others to scrap, others yet to frame. And yet they reside within the depths of my computer, in the dark, where no one can see them. Perhaps it’s time I get with the times and use my Snapfish account to upload them, choose and print them.

2. I had a short career in elementary and middle school as a “Stage Manager,” for the many plays my school put on. I like to think I revolutionized how plays were done. I created a process for marking and keeping track of the props. I made spreadsheets for attendance, prop location, scene lighting and more. There were two stage managers for each play: we had identical binders with every possible bit of info about the play attached to our hips at all times. At the same time, I made some amazing friends, got my childhood dog into one of the scenes and memorized all the lines right along with the actors and actresses.

3. I have a love/hate relationship with tanning. I prefer to be tan. I feel more sexy and confident when I tan. You can’t see any imperfections that may have popped up as a direct result of my lack of exercise when I’m tan. I have 10 tans at my favorite tanning place. I’ve used one since I purchased them. I know tanning is bad for me. I’m terrified of skin cancer. So right now? I’m slightly tan but not anywhere near my usual “Ovaltine,” color that my brother used to call me.

4. I’m afraid of heights. Rollercoasters, lighthouses, airplanes, helicopters all give me immediate anxiety including sweaty palms and a look of sheer and utter panic. I’ll do it if I have to but I won’t like it.

5. I marched in Disney World on New Years Eve, 1999, when I was a huge dork and was part of the marching band. I played flute and piccolo. The first thing I did on January 1st, 2000? I rode Space Mountain. Five times. (There was no line!)

6. I met Air Supply on my trip to St. Thomas two years ago for my friend’s wedding. Totally cool band. No really, I mean it. I don’t know much about their music but the band members were intelligent, well-rounded, gentlemanly and really funny.

7. I had a chance to go to France my senior year in high school but I backed out at the last minute. I don’t regret it by any means as I heard some really bizarre stories about the “Family Stays,” my friends went on but I do wonder when I’ll have the chance to see La Tour Eiffel in person and not just in French Kiss.

Now, for the blog award winners (which was incredibly hard to choose):

1. The State I am In
2. Dear Friend
3. Won’t you be my Neighbor?
4. Rocky Time Warp
5. Fab Brunette
6. We Keep Saying
7. Little Miss Obsessive

A Recipe: Moving Soup

Ingredents you will need:

* Four rooms, full of over two years of furniture, household appliances, the necessities needed to live and of course the obligatory junk that accumulates
* One incredibly patient, supportive and surprisingly strong (in all aspects of the word) boyfriend. Acceptable substitute: best friends who bring wine to help during the moving process.
* One 4-door Honda Accord. Full tank of gas desired but not required.
* Three flights of stairs in an old apartment, but charming, apartment building
* 83- the average temperature preferred during moving days
* Two movers, aged approximately 21, and one very large truck
* Ten or more boxes. Acceptable Substitute: Five or six boxes that you unpack each trip you make to the new residence.
* One flight of stairs at your new residence
* One and a half rooms, some basement space and the cupboards at your boyfriend’s place to cram all your belongings
* Four trash bags full of junk tossed to the curb
* Three trips to the curb with things you decide not to move

To Make Moving Soup:

Combine one strong boyfriend, one Honda Accord, various boxes plus other large furniture, as well as three flights of apartment stairs. Repeat until Honda Accord is full: every nook, cranny, floorboard, trunk and the area near your feet must be jampacked. Deliver the contents to the New Residence. Repeat three more times, unfortunately without the aide of your strong boyfriend.

After four Honda Accord carloads have been deposited at Your New Place of Residence (aka Chez Parents), wait patiently at empty, internetless apartment for the Two 21-year old movers and their laaarrrge truck. Proceed to clean baseboards, window sills, dust all corners, vacuum, mop, Clorox all surfaces, scrub and repeat until the movers arrive.

Worry about competence of movers as they proclaim they are tired, sore, and, um, move your futon down all three flights of stairs but then cannot get it out the front door. Cue return of futon to empty apartment, making sure to include one broken light bulb in the hallway, large dents and scratches on the walls as part of the failed futon side dish that accompanies Moving Soup.

Once large truck is full with the large “pieces,” of furniture you own and apartment is (mostly) empty, proceed to Your New Residence with the Movers following you in their laaarrrge truck as they failed to get directions from Point A to Point B.

Instruct movers on location and placement of all pieces of furniture within Your New Residence. Once movers are watered, tipped and paid, begin to navigate the minefield that is your bedroom, hallway, and adjacent rooms full of boxes, artwork and random stuff. Take it one room at a time, slowly mixing the contents of the boxes until they create one beautiful New Residence.

Chef’s Note: The last step, navigating the minefield that is the boxes, bags and mounds of stuff you own may take several days. Or weeks, depending on your schedule. Be sure to allow plenty of time for this step so as to not feel overwhelmed. Promise to your dear eaters readers that you will post pictures as soon as the New Residence is picture-worthy. Rejoice in the fact that you only have six or seven bruises, stronger arms, legs and butt muscles as a result of this move.

OH: Fireworks

Saturday night, Darling, Boss, my gram and I (Irish was patiently waiting for me at the next party we had to attend) set-up camp in our nearby Barnes & Noble parking lot for the best view of the Fireworks our township puts on each year.

While we were waiting in humid air under a heat-lightning sky, several large groups of kids traipsed past us with light-up shoes, Mickey Mouse shirts and their little, tiny voices in which they really do say the darndest (cutest!) things.

Little Girl to her mother: “Mom? Is this the real show of fireworks? Or the fake show?”

Little Boy to his father, after a huge wave of heat lightning lit up the entire sky: “Is that the warning timer for us to sit down? Are the fireworks about to start? Do we get another warning?”

In addition to the cute things kids say, heat lightning and a spectacular, 30-minute long firework show, we got a little drenched in the thunderstorms, wrangled insane traffice (I hate minivans) and laughed about July 4th’s past.

Did you overhear anything funny/unusual during your holiday?

June 2009 Recap

Current Book(s):
The Miracle at St. Anna by James McBride
(I just finished Julie & Julia by Julie Powell so that I can see the movie when it comes out.)

Current Music:
Dave Mattews Band: Big Whiskey & the Groogrux King
Maroon 5
Twilight Soundtrack

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure:
Eddy’s Slow Churned Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Current Colors:
Bright green
Brown
(not to wear, for decorative purposes only)

Current Obsessions:
Unpacking at my parent’s house
Felicity via Netflix. Currently on Season Three.

Current Drink:
Dr. Pepper Cherry
Water

Current Songs:
You & Me, Dave Matthews Band

Current Movie:
Anything mindless and girlie

Current TV Show:
True Blood
Clean House (I am addicted to the darn show)

Current Wish-List:
More vacation time
Being able to work from home more often

Current Needs:
SLEEP (Which is a recurring theme each time I do these recaps)
To sit down and send cards to friends and family

Current Triumph(s):
I’ve made it to the halfway mark in  my summer class!

Current Bane(s) of my Existence:
Unpacking.
Getting someone to take apart my futon & move it for me since the movers had no success with that

Current Goal(s):
Be completely settled at the ‘rents by August 1st
Plan a fall vacation with Irish
Schedule some much needed Nora-time

Current Indulgence:
Cheese.

Current Blessing:
Too many to count but here are a few: the temperature is not in the 100s. Work is busy which makes the day fly by. Jack is totally adorable when he plays with his stuffed animal toys (they even go with us on walks).  

Current Slang or Saying:
Oh really?

Current (Fav) Outfit:
My Anne Taylor Loft jeans, pretty much any top, paired with appropriate heels or flip-flops

Current Excitement:
New Orleans work trip/peppered with some fun starts this Friday
Halfway done with my grad class
Figuring out next grad school steps
Saving money since I’m no longer living in an apartment

Current Mood:
Happily fatigued

 

Blogland

Today’s Guest Poster is Mandy (aka Small Town Girl). She’s one of those bloggers that is on my “must meet,” list so if you aren’t reading her blog, you better get to it! 

When I began blogging  a few years ago, like many of us, I had no real idea what blogging actually was or what it meant to be a blogger. At first, it was simply a vehicle to read and comment on other people’s posts. After a few months of doing that, I decided to take the plunge — I wanted to be a blogger too.  My first few posts were mundane and monotonous. This is what I did today, this is what I am going to do tomorrow. They lacked creativity and my actual thoughts. I stopped and started a few times before really giving this whole blogging thing a go. I’m happy to say that I’ve found my stride(or at least I hope I have).

Today as I was thinking of what to write for this guest post, I found myself thinking of everything my blog has done for me. Crazy as it sounds, its more than one might think. 

My blog has given me a voice. I have spent most of my life in a small town. While I do adore my small town life, the downside of that is the small town mentality. I have always been far more liberal and open minded than many of my friends. I’ve always been the girl who had far fetched big city ideas, even as a youngster in grade school.  By blogging I was able to put my thoughts and ideas into words. Words that many of you read on a weekly basis, without judgment or criticism. I’ve never considered myself very articulate or well spoken. Writing has always been my medium.   Writing my blog allows me to think more clearly, feel more deeply, and over all make more sense of my life.  I really feel like my blog is a direct extension of who I am.

My blog has also allowed me to meet some incredible people. Though blogging I have been introduced to people who share similar thoughts, hopes, and desires. People who are vastly different from myself, but people with whom I share a great connection that goes beyond just reading words on a screen. I’ve met people who I am honored to call my friend. People who I commiserate with via text message when things go wrong and call when things go right. People I have had the opportunity to meet in real life and people who are on my list to visit on a roadtrip.  People one would think I have nothing in common with but are more similar than any of us first realized.

Blogging is a community. One that I had no idea even existed when I first started writing. We all travel in the same online circles. If we don’t read someone chances are pretty good we’ve seen their name in the comments section of another blog or linked on someone elses. Its sort of like being at a big party and knowing of someone but not actually knowing them. Blogging has made me realize that the world is smaller than I think. I have blogging friends that span the US and a few other countries. I’m pretty sure that if I ever decided to pick a random city, I could find at least a few other bloggers to hang out and have coffee with. The blogging community is one of the greatest I belong too. They are encouraging, uplifiting, and supportive. They have challenged me to think thoughts I wouldn’t have, pushed my boundaries beyond what I would have, shared my sorrows when things didn’t work out, and virtually high fived me when I did something I wasn’t sure I could.

Blogging has definitely made my life better and I honestly can’t imagine my life without it.

So tell me, what has blogging done for you?

Kyla Roma’s Guide To St. Louis

Today’s Guest Post is brought to you by the lovely, sweet, insightful, creative Kyla.

One of the things about being a loyal reader of your fellow bloggers is that your vision of their cities is largely framed through cursory comments and pictures of nights out with friends. Place is something that tends to bubble up in unexpected moments and side glances, which can leave you with an interesting impression of a place. I’ve been reading Nora’s blog since Fall 2008, and I have to say, I think I’m pretty much an expert on St. Louis now- albeit I’m an expert on Nora’s version of St. Louis. So in case any of my fellow readers were thinking about visiting her I would like to provide you with a Bloggers Guide to St. Louis.

Not that, you know, I’ve ever been.

Local Landmarks
When you visit St. Louis any local will first ask you where you are from and where you have been in the city yet. If you have not been to a site where Dave Mathews Band has played, you wil be immediately redirected as for people from St. Louis these are designated historical sites where vigils are ofent held in the hopes that DMB returns safely and often. Grad School is a popular hot spot for Italian women in their early twenties, as is the Old Rock House where the food is deliscious, visiting penguins at the Zoo (where the food is deliscious if you’re a penguin), and of course, the arch.

Weather
From what I can tell? Always sunny! More reason to visit!

Pastimes
Locals in St. Louis love to take it easy, so bring a taste for girly drinks! Spending time with the family ranks high on the priority list, and one on one time on the town with the man in your life is a must. Concerts are a big local attraction (please see above) as are St. Louis Cardinals games and attending weddings and, more popular still, being featured as a bridesmaid by friends. If you visit St. Louis you should bring at least one bridesmaid’s dress, just in case. They have girls nights every Wednesday night, and frequent bookclubs (at least in the spring they did). Sadly, attempting to navigate allergies is also a pastime, as St. Louis is the most allergin filled city in the midwestern US, but a common folk remedy is staying up late to watch Audrey Hepburn movies, which at least seems to offset allergy response if not remedy it.

What People from St. Louis Dream About
People from St. Louis dream of kicking off their work shoes, walking to the airport and boarding the first plane to Italy….only to return home to buy homes with their significant others and fill them with adopted dogs. They dream about cooking and baking more, of finishing grad school, and of a little more of a path into the future- but not so much that it takes away the adventure. People from St. Louis are brave romantics, fiercly smart, incredibly warm, and above all they’re kind.

St. Louis is exactly the kind of city I would like to live in. Provided everyone who lives there is just like Nora.

What is your impression of Nora’s city?

Where’s Nora?

I’m a tad busy this week with moving, midterms and research papers, dealing with crazy government clients, trying to get my jumpy co-workers to settle down and did I mention moving? Rather than let my blog go dark this week I’ve been fortunate to have some lovely ladies and possibly a gentleman post for me this week. Show them the love you show me as these posts are all spectacular! I’ll be back later this week assuming I’m not buried under moving boxes.

Excuses

Today’s Guest Post is from the wonderful, ever-hilarious, sincere Tabitha. No idea how we found each other’s blogs but I’m thrilled that we did. She makes me laugh, makes think and currently I love reading every detail about her upcoming wedding because as you all know I’m a wedding junkie.  This post is delightful so enjoy!

When the ever-fabulous Nora tweeted that she was looking for a few guest posts this weekend, I jumped at the chance. Why?  I have two reasons:

1. Nora is, as previously mentioned, ever-fabulous. Therefore, an opportunity to share a little corner of her blog for a day just might allow some of that fabulousness to rub off on me. Plus, it might be the closest I’ll ever get to “hanging out” with her in real life.
2. My ulterior motive? I plan on holding this over her head asking Nora to return the favor when I go on my honeymoon in August. *teehee*

Anyway, let’s get to this guest post, shall we?

Today, I thought you all might enjoy a little game I like to call “Excuses.”

The rules of the game are as follows:

1. I will list some things I do (or don’t do) which are any combination of the following characteristics:
   a) embarrassing/awkward
   b) lazy/slackerish
   c) rude/offensive
   d) just plain strange
2. After each offense, I will list the excuse(s) I make for said offense.
3. Your mission is to rate my excuses on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being completely illegitimate or bogus, and 10 being acceptable/justifiable reasons for the offense).
4. After that, you can feel free to do any or all of the following:
   a) offer some better (read: more believable) excuses
   b) offer alternatives to the offenses, which might help me stop making excuses
   c) tell me what sorts of things YOU make excuses for!

Ready? Ooooo-kay!*

Top Five Things I Make Excuses for on a Fairly Regular Basis (in no particular order):

1. Offense: Leaving my clean laundry draped over my chair/couch/bed for more than two weeks after laundry day (basically long enough that they’ve all been worn before they ever made it to the closet or dresser)…and moving them from place to place when they get in my way.

   Excuse: My closet is really dark, so it’s hard to see the clothes when I put them away in there, yanno? Or, if that one doesn’t work: I just never have tiiiiiiimmeee to do such a meaningless task as putting away my clean clothes. I’ve got too much else to do in life. Besides, I’m inevitably going to wear them and throw them in the hamper again, anyway…

2. Offense: Letting out a gnarly SBD in Joe’s (my fiance’s) car on a long drive, and failing to alert him before the stench reaches his nostrils or crack the window to allow the abomination to escape.

   Excuse: Sometimes I don’t even realize it’s coming until it’s already happened. No, seriously. I have very little control over my gas emissions. Also? Joe totally loves it when I do that.

3. Offense: Licking Joe’s face/hand/shoulder/whatever’s most accessible, then laughing maniacally. *Obviously this falls under the category: d) just plain strange.*

   Excuse: He just looks so…edible? Er…sometimes I mistake him for a Tootsie Pop? …Oh! I’ve got it: He just needs to be reminded sometimes that he’s about to marry a freak of nature. Yep. That’s the one.

4. Offense: Standing in the middle of the street/sidewalk/room and breaking into song and dance. (Note: this often occurs at inopportune or inappropriate times, or sometimes just completely at random.) Oh, and occasionally ending with a flourish, a high-pitched (totally out-of-tune) note, or a “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid” wink/point — mind you, at no one in particular — and an enthusiastic, “Booyah!”
   
   Excuse: I…well, I just like to cut loose sometimes. So what if it’s during a business meeting or in the middle of a prayer time at church? A girl’s gotta express herself. And anyway, I know that everyone who has ever witnessed this sort of performance will never, ever forget it. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing…I’ll let you decide.
5. Offense: Forgetting to put on deodorant…and, inevitably, if I forget my deodorant, I also forget my perfume/body spray…and chances are I didn’t have time to shower that morning, either. In my defense, if I realize that I forgot to put on deodorant or body spray or take a shower, I make a conscious effort to keep my arms down AT ALL COSTS…even if it makes for some super awkward contortions to try to reach something up high or shake someone’s hand.

   Excuse: I have to ration my deodorant usage because I’m a poor college student. Oh…wait. That excuse ran out of fuel in 2007. Crap. Okay, how about this? The dog ate my deodorant! …AND my body spray! …AND the freaking shower head. I swear.

Well, that about does it for now. I hope you haven’t gotten the wrong impression of me from this post. Like, if you think I’m deranged or inconsiderate or a big lazy-arse…I TOTALLY am not. I’m awesome. Just ask anyone…except the guy who had to stand next to me in line after I did #5 followed immediately by #4. He might not think I’m so awesome.

Thanks again, Nora, for letting me invade your space today! I may have mentioned this already, but you are FANNNNTABULOUS.

*Please excuse my cheerspeak. I don’t know where that came from, since I’ve never been a cheerleader before… Must’ve been all those times sitting in the bleachers with the pep band and mocking the chicks freezing their butts off while standing on wooden crates and waving around stupid little poofy things. (See? Another excuse. AND I’m a jerk.)

GiST 37-39/365

When there is a lot of sadness in the world I make sure I take note of all the Great Things going on around me. Today was a tough day for Hollywood and fans alike, so here are things that made me smile in the last few days…

1. Vanilla yogurt on sale, 2 for $1 at the grocery store. I love, love, love Vanilla Yogurt. Bonus: it’s the Weight Watchers brand so it’s double good for me, right?

2. Being able to call Darling during my lunch hour to act like a four-year old and tell her I needed a great big hug to deal with my great, big, sucky work day. She called me my childhood nicknames, told me she loved me and then we laughed over something silly and had a moment of silence for Farrah.

3. Having the cojones to deal with a tough work situation today, ensuring it worked out the way it needed to, and avoiding cursing like a sailor in the process.

4. My muscles are sore from a 2.5 mile run I did that involved a TON of hills. I love that feeling.

5. Wearing the new earrings Irish gave me for the 365 day mark; made out of bamboo and lightweight make them perfect for a day in the office.

6. Playing with Jack for 30 minutes and ignoring my homework and studies.

7. Setting up a coffee date with Nilsa for this weekend when she visits my town! She was one of the very first blogs I idolized and looked up to so it’s kind of like meeting a superstar.

8. A yummy dinner of buffalo chicken wraps, waffle fries and salad while watching Rescue Me on Hulu, with Irish next to me and Jack’s head on my knee.

9. Starting my midterm paper to discover it will be much easier than I anticipated. Bonus: It’s on Italy so I find it doubly interesting.

10. Text messages from Kyla and Mandy.

11. There is talk of our insane heatwave ending which is enough to make me do a happy dance. I love summer but 110-115 heat index with crazy humidity each day is just uncool.

12. Tomorrow is Friday.

13. Buying rainbow chocolate chip cookies to squash a craving I’ve been having for a few days.

14. I bought Scratchers tickets and one of them was a winnner! It’s a free ticket but hey, at least it’s a small return on my investment.

15. Watching New In Town, playing a mindless online game, and just relaxing. Who doesn’t like movies that are 90 minute romantic comedies which include Harry Connick Jr?

16. Hugs from Irish, a man who keeps giving even after he’s had an equally, if not more, stressful day than me.